Magic Mike (Steven Soderbergh, 2012)

What's it about? Mike (Channing Tatum) works as a male stripper, whilst nursing dreams about doing something more serious with his life. When he recruits a new kid (Alex Pettyfer) for the show, it acts as a catalyst for change in his life. Thongs ensue.



Is it any good? As you might expect, this features plenty of male stripping, buff bodies and tiny pants. So that'll keep the girls happy. What you might not expect is to find a really rather good turn from Channing Tatum as Mike, whose easy charm and carefree lifestyle belies a sensitive soul who's questioning his life choices, and his appealing performance anchors the film admirably. There's also eye-catching performances from Cody Horn as the kid's protective sister and from Matthew McConaughey's torso as a piece of rock-hard granite. Also, whilst the material and story-arc is hardly new, Soderbergh invests it with a low-key approach which gives it some credibility. So, it's all watchable enough, even if it doesn't amount to anything particularly muscular in the end. Elvis grand-daughter does turn up at one point, so watch out for her. And there's a sprinkling of female flesh on display too, just in case you thought it was only for girls. This is a good time to watch it, actually, as it'll probably inspire you to get down the gym after pigging out at Christmas. Maybe.


Anything else I should know? Impressed by Tatum's moves in this? That's because he used to be a male stripper back in the day, and the movie is pretty much a loose account of his experiences. He talks a bit about his sordid past here.




What does the Fonz think? It's raining men! Er...hallelujah?





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